FINDLAY, Ohio – Six teams competed in two head-to-head matches against each other as the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Wrestling Championship duals started on Friday in Findlay’s Malcolm Athletic Center.
The top three seeds, No. 8 nationally ranked Tiffin, defending champion and second seeded Lake Erie and the host Oilers, all went 2-0 in their first two tournament matches.
Findlay defeated Alderson Broaddus 42-2 and Ohio Valley, 57-0. Tiffin toppled Ohio Valley, 54-6, and Kentucky Wesleyan, 50-0. Lake Erie beat Kentucky Wesleyan, 37-12, and Alderson Broaddus, 40-18.
Tiffin’s NCAA Division II leader in pins Hayden Bronne notched two more falls at 174 pounds as one of the highlights in day one. The senior also led the country as a junior with 22 and now has 13 to his season count.
Bronne had his first pin in 5:35 before sticking his next opponent in 36 seconds. Teammate and defending conference wrestler of the year Trey Grine had bonus points in both of his bouts with a technical fall and a quick pin.
A young Kentucky Wesleyan roster sported a near-full lineup just in the program’s second year with first-year head coach Rob McCabe on the sidelines. The only sudden victory of the day went to the Panthers’ Austin Cook at 133 pounds.
The quickest pin of the first two rounds went to Lake Erie senior Blake Glogouski in 30 seconds at 133 pounds vs. Alderson Broaddus. Glogouski is a key piece of the puzzle for the Storm as they try to repeat as conference duals champs.
AB’s reigning regional champion Gino Sita recorded a victory at 184 pounds as he continues to thrive moving up a weight class. Sita and teammate Curtis Cox are ranked in the top 10 in Division II in technical falls.
Cox was out of AB’s lineup in day one along with other star power that included 2019 NCAA champion Nick Mason at 197 pounds for Tiffin.
Saturday’s competition on three different mats resumes at 10 AM ET before the team champion is crowned. The all-conference team as voted upon by the coaches will be announced Monday afternoon by the league office.
Each team will wrestle three different duals on Saturday. The first matchups will be Tiffin and Findlay, Kentucky Wesleyan and Alderson Broaddus, and Lake Erie against Ohio Valley.